


Soul-mates

by icemakestars



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, soul-mate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 17:06:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5505956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icemakestars/pseuds/icemakestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jellal turns eighteen, he receives a necklace which will lead him to his soul-mate. A brilliant scarlet gemstone and the initials 'E.S.', Jellal is perplexed as to how this could possibly be relevant to his future love. Until he finds himself in a coffee shop with a good book and a girl with hair so red, it's almost familiar...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soul-mates

The room was warm and stuffy, with not enough air conditioning and far too much central heating. He kicked off the covers with a stretch, the sunlight streaming through his window landing hotly on his midriff. It was only when Jellal rolled over to check the time that he realised it was his birthday.

“Oh, _God_.” He moaned, wiping a hand over his face and rubbing out the headache which already caressed his temples. It was too late. The door was kicked open, and his mother and sister were already stood in the doorway grinning.

“Happy birthday!” They sang the song in unison, Jellal's smile tight and forced as he received the festivity as positively as he could. It wasn't as though he hated his birthday, but this one was special; his eighteenth, which meant that, along with the right to vote, drink, and be legally recognised as an adult in today's society, Jellal was also about to receive his 'package'.

It was a system devised by the government to keep down divorce rates and end the idea that marriage was an unhappy affair. A person is assigned a soul-mate, someone who physically, emotionally and economically perfect for the other person. Of course, it would be far too easy for them to just _deliver_  such a person at your door. Instead, on the day which you turn eighteen, you received an item of jewellery which contained the initials of the person you are supposed to be with, as well as a key feature about them, something which you will recognise instantly.

Jellal was both terrified and intrigued at the concept of receiving such an item, and felt his palms go warm when the full realisation that today was that day settled on his bare chest.

“This came for you this morning.” His mother, a short woman in her mid-forties, with pale skin and a shock of short, curly blue hair, handed him a sealed white box. It was silken and embroidered with purple thread, his name printed in black over the case. Jellal swallowed loudly.

Wendy, his younger sister, leant forward in excitement. “Open it, Jellal! And then you can open the gift from me and Carla!” As if the mention of her name had summoned her, Wendy's pet cat jumped on Jellal's bed and curled up over his feet. Everyone- cat included- watched as he flipped open the lid and revealed the key to his future.

It was a silver chain, too long to be anything other than a necklace, which had a single red gemstone sitting in the silver webbing. The pendant had two letters attached to one side of them 'E.S.', the initials of his soul-mate.

“That's a red beryl, or a 'Bixbite'.” His mother hummed, nodding her approval. Jellal stayed silent, plucking the item gently from it's box and holding it against the sunlight. It sparkled beautifully, and Jellal wondered how something which shone such an ethereal shade of scarlet could lead him to his soul-mate.

* * *

 

It was on a whim that Jellal went into Starbucks, the aroma of coffee drawing him in from the outside and forcing him to stand in line to order his drink. The queue was long, and he watched the barrister write his name on the plastic cup for his order. The wait was boring, and Jellal occupied himself by scanning the room, searching for a place to sit and enjoy his mercifully quiet afternoon.

“Jeh-lahl?” The mispronunciation of his name by a timid young girl neither irked nor surprised Jellal; his name was not the easiest to say or spell, especially considering that it was not from this continent. He took his drink in silence, taking one sip as he moved to the seat which he had chosen. The drink burnt his mouth, but the sting was sweet and not necessarily unpleasant. He took another, small mouthful.

Jellal seated himself in the chair closest to the window, pulling out his novel- a suitably disturbing piece by Iain Banks- and settled himself in. The bitter aroma of coffee mixed with the sickly scent of caramel drifted around the shop, and Jellal was reminded once again of what he had ordered; a caramel latte. It was sweet enough that the taste of coffee did not bother him, but still strong enough that the affects of the caffeine were still felt.

Noticing something from the corner of his eye, Jellal frowned. A woman had stood at the opposite end of the room, someone who had gone unnoticed when he had initially entered the shop. Her face was neutral, but beautiful, and her long scarlet hair reflected the sunlight and sent red shadows to dance throughout the store. Instinctively, Jellal's finger's closed around the rare bixbite gemstone resting on his chest. His heart thrummed in his throat, names rolling around his mind as he tried to guess if this woman was the 'E.S.' he was destined to meet.

None of the names Jellal conjured fit her the graceful serenity the woman seemed shrouded in. Emma... Elena... Eliza... Ellie... Eleanor...

“Erza Scarlet!” The barrister called, placing a large strawberries-and-cream frappuccino on the wooden table. The red-head moved forward to collect her drink, and Jellal clattered clumsily to his feet, knocking over his satchel and not bothering to pick up its scattered remains.

“Um, excuse me!” He weaved swiftly through the hoard of coffee drinkers, earning nasty glares and distasteful mutters from elderly women and young men alike.

“Argh...” Jellal, being the epitome of elegance and the king of making great first-impressions, tripped over a blonde woman's handbag and flew directly into his soul-mate. Her cold coffee splashed over her green blouse, causing dark stains to dampen her stomach and chest. She squeaked a noise that Jellal found sinfully adorable, her cheeks red and eyes going hard. It seemed as though she was going to yell, until her eyes fell onto his face and she gasped almost inaudibly. Her long fingers stroked the necklace which hung around her chest: a silver, miniature version of Jellal's face marking. He blushed, and awkwardly extended his left hand.

“Jellal. Jellal Fernandes.” His voice shook when her skin met his.

“Erza Scarlet.” She offered confidently, smiling at him with her large, brown eyes.

“I know, I heard.” Jellal bit his lip in an attempt to conceal his laughter, glancing down to their still joined hands. It was only then that he remembered her shirt.

Jellal grabbed a handful of napkins and hovered over Erza's chest, wanting to help clean up the mess he made but not wanting to be too... touchy. “Oh shit, let me buy you another drink!”

Erza took the thin paper towels from him and cleaned off the cold drink as best as she could. Jellal didn't comment on the pinkness of her cheeks when his hand brushed her chest, and was almost glad that she didn't either.

“Strawberries-and-cream, right?” He turned to the counter, and then back to her.

She grinned. “It's as good in a cup as it is on a cheesecake!”

Jellal nodded, his laughter leaving him feeling almost light-headed. As he waited to be served, Erza came and stood beside him. Silently, she linked her pinkie through his own. Jellal's head whipped round to stare at her, but she was looking away in bashful ignorance. He smiled softly at her, a warmth in his chest that fanned outward until he was sure that even Erza could feel it in the tip of his fingers.

“What can I get you, Sir?” The barrister seemed friendly, if not forced.

“Two strawberries-and-cream frappuccino's please. Large, one with cream and sauce and the other with...” He trailed off and let Erza finish her drink as she liked it. She nodded gratefully at him.

“The same as his, please.”

The barrister nodded and passed the order along.

“So... um...” Jellal grazed the back of his undercut with his blunt nails, searching for something to say to Erza.

“You're my soul-mate.” Blunt and with a steely conviction, Erza raised herself up on her toes and pressed a chaste kiss, as fleeting as morning dew, on the edge of Jellal's mouth.

This instant connection, something which bound them from their pinkies to their hearts, was something Jellal had only heard whispers of by wistful adults, and read about in his novels. He imagined a tether, a red ribbon the same crimson shade as Erza's hair, which tied them together, pulling them to this moment and ensuring that they stayed together, as one.

The barrister set their drinks down on the table, the shop no longer busy enough for names to be called. Jellal realised how lucky they were for things to turn out the way that they did, and spared a glance at Erza's peaceful expression, his heart fluttering erratically at the pools of liquid gold which shone in her eyes.

“Should we...” Jellal gestured vaguely in the direction of his previous seat and the items which he had abandoned.

“Yeah.” Erza nodded, making her way through the crowd to the satchel splayed at the other end of the room. Finger still linked with Erza's, Jellal followed her to the seats, and into the beginning of their future together.


End file.
